Young Writers Society

Lieutenant Grak and his platoon were sent to Deckstoru for one thing and one thing only – to capture a person targeted by their organization.

They hadn’t even given them the name of the target.

Just a description and a device to locate her.

Orders were orders however and they had to be executed.

While Grak had been informed the target was a deviant, he was assured that she would have no memory of who she is and would not be able to use her abilities to their full extent.

But no one had told him she also possessed a superstrength deva that could not be neutralized by standard deva neutralization cuffs.

He made that discovery himself when the girl he had captured broke her cuffs and collar a little bit after their chat aboard the triple-rotor helicopter used to transport the platoon.

Grak had seen her looking desperate when they brought her inside the helicopter and he had seen her looking angry while he talked with her.

Now, however, she just looked dead serious, almost as if she was possessed.

His soldiers were the first who fell victim to her rampage, very soon it becoming clear their lieutenant would have to intervene.

Their orders were to take her alive at all costs and the members of his platoon were not going to be able to subdue her without damaging their craft considerably.

Just as he was about to use his deva a loud crack of thunder was heard very close to the helicopter, the next thing that happened being that a huge lightning bolt pierced through the transport for Grak and his platoon.

It nearly cut the craft in half, the lieutenant enveloping his entire body in chains in order to protect himself from the blinding light of the bolt, some of the soldiers not being able to respond fast enough and being blinded.

That bolt had come out of nowhere and its size and duration were far from normal.

A deviant was responsible. Moreover, it was deviant whose abilities were not restrained by a chip.

Could it be the two brats from earlier?

If it was them and if somehow both had survived and miraculously developed the ability to use the full extent of their devas, most likely one of them was going to cause a distraction while the other got the girl away from the platoon.

Grak’s suspicions were confirmed in a matter of seconds as explosions of masses of bright red fireworks enveloped the inside of the helicopter while a smaller bolt separated itself from the big one before it disappeared, going straight for the

white-haired brat.

The lieutenant sent his chains forward to catch her first but the bolt teleported itself closer to the target with great speed and managed to take her away.

‘-At least this mission finally got fun.’

The transport started breaking apart while descending fast, everyone inside it getting out, the platoon’s leader being happy he had trained his men well enough so they could use their anti-deva weapons for defense as well as offense, as they used the elemental shots coming from those weapons to form platforms which made their landing a lot smoother.

Grak himself saw the construction site of a tall building below him and shot a number of chains with spikes at the end from his left wrist, piercing one of the highest beams, then increasing the length of his chains to reach the ground safely, absorbing all the chains inside his arm when he was done, his men having already gathered around him.

All of them watched as their helicopter crashed amidst the construction site area and blew up, being able to partially see the girl and the two boys who had tried to help her earlier through the smoke.

(The sergeant) ‘-I guess we’ll be going back to the teleporter on foot.’

(Grak) ‘-Is that a problem?’

(The sergeant) ‘-It will be harder to move through the streets while carrying the target.’

(The second lieutenant) ‘-First we have to recapture her.’

(Grak) ‘- And don’t forget our orders, gentlemen. Command wants her alive at all costs.’

(The sergeant) ‘-What about the two who are with her?’

(The corporal) ‘-Wait a minute … are they … look at that! Look at them! They have multiple burn marks and hemorrhages!’

(The second lieutenant) ‘-So they forced their devas beyond the limit of their chips?!’

(Soldier 1) ‘-That explains why their attacks were so powerful compared to earlier. They probably released more power in the moment of our multibarrage at the square and evaded all the attacks with superfast teleportation. Crazy bastards…’

(Grak) ‘-Those two seem to have some skill and are clearly insane. I’ll handle them.

You capture the girl.

The ones with static anti-deva weapons, provide cover for the rest as you can close the distance between you and her.

Then the ones with active anti-deva weapons, unleash a barrage against her.

Just enough to wound her and possibly make her lose consciousness.

I’ll tie her with enough of my chains when we’re done so she won’t be able to escape again.’

(All the members of the platoon) ‘-Yes, sir!!!’

The survivors of the platoon lunged at the girl while the boys went for Grak even before he could make his move.

It seemed they had the same idea as him.

The two unleashed a combined wave of huge amounts of bright red firework explosions and lightning bolts, clearly aiming to distract him while one of them teleported behind his back.

The more they used the full power of their devas, the more it would drain their strength until they’d eventually collapse.

They definitely realized that so they were probably going to try and end the fight as quickly as possible but the chainman was not about to just let them do that.

This time he shot out multiple chains from his ankles, the ones coming out of his right ankle ending with blades and the ones coming out of the left one – with scythes, using them to cut through the enemy attack, the spiky-haired brat having teleported behind him while he had done that.

He was not aware of the full extent of Grak’s abilities, however, and due to the implants in his body he was not handicapped by the chip limit on his deva like his enemies.

He could keep going at this for much longer than them – one of the many advantages he had over the duo in their fight.

Chains that ended with maces came out of his right wrist, swinging with his right arm so he could smash his opponent aside, the golden-haired one coming right above him with a ready double explosive fist, a number of chains ending with spikes coming out of Grak’s left wrist then to stop him from completing his attack.

The two had now been pushed back, by the looks of it neither one having noticed the lieutenant had sent the chains coming out of his ankles underground, currently extending their length so they could reach under the brats’ feet for a surprise attack.

(Grak) ‘-That one should not have been in this city long. What’s she to you that you would risk your bodies crumbling to dust to help her?’

(Hikaru) ‘-A fellow deviant chased by a couple of bastards that opened fire on innocent people back at that square. People from our city.’

(Grak) ‘-None of them appeared to be deviants. I get why you would care about her to a certain extent but those ordinari?’

(Seiren) ‘-Says the guy leading a platoon of ordinari.’

(Grak) ‘-I’m not from around here so the rules that apply to you don’t apply to me.’

(Hikaru) ‘-Does that include the neutralized effects of your chip?’

(Grak) ‘-Among other things.’

He shot out the chains ending with blades from the ground under the spiky-haired one and the chains ending with scythes from the ground under the golden-haired one’s feet.

The boy with the lightning deva slammed his foot against the ground and a huge mass of lightning bolts formed around him to push back the chains aimed for him, his counterpart using a number of thin pillars of bright red fireworks to neutralize the chains Grak was planning to use to finish him.

By then the lieutenant had sent his mace-chains to the one and his spike-chains to the other, covered by the smoke that had risen from them blocking his attacks.

Their response time was not that fast anymore with the amount of fatigue they were dealing with. One direct hit was all the chainman needed.

He was unable to take advantage of this opportunity however because suddenly a mass of ice spikes and blades came from the ground under him. And it came at him with remarkable speed.

He jumped up and pulled the chains meant to attack the boys back to his body so he could use them for defense, his reaction being a tad too slow which allowed a couple of the ice spikes and blades to cut and pierce him.

The wounds were shallow but he didn’t expect he would even get wounded during the execution of this mission.

Nor did he expect his platoon to be defeated but as he looked around the construction site area, he saw most of his men were crushed in the ground with a number of wounds, their anti-deva arsenal being destroyed.

Who was responsible for this?!

The same person responsible for that mass of ice spikes and blades appearing out of nowhere.

The white-haired brat Grak was sent to capture.

His gaze finally focused on her as she returned her attention to the surviving soldiers, her allies not having wasted the opportunity she had given them by surprising the chainman.

Each one launched a barrage of lightning and explosive shots while closing in on him, not realizing he still had a number of chains planted underground, which allowed him to quickly increase their numbers and shape them into masses that came out all around him, forming a sphere to protect him from the barrage.

He sent his mace-chains and spike-chains through the sphere to counterattack, by the time Grak had removed the protective sphere, his opponents being wounded once again by his attack and slammed in the ground.

Also his platoon had now been completely defeated, the unassuming child responsible stepping towards him as the energy arsenal of his men blew up in pale green explosions behind her.

He may not have liked his men all that much but they were a good, capable and loyal group.

And they had got much more than they had bargained for on this mission.

The lieutenant was not the vengeful type but he could release more of his power in a fit just this once.

It was about time he took his prey seriously.

He wrapped his left wrist chains around the boys and threw them at the white-haired brat while using his right wrist chains to wrap them around her during her moment of surprise, immediately starting to pull his target closer.

(Grak) ‘-No one told me the target was a deviant with multiple devas! And judging by the scope of those ice attacks … you don’t have a chip in you, do you?’

(Yuki) ‘-I don’t know and don’t care! I only care about dealing with you!!’

(Grak) ‘-That won’t go the way you’re thinking, darling. You’re not the only chipless deviant around here. The difference between me and you is …’

He couldn’t finish his sentence because an orb of bright red fireworks was thrown at him, cut in half easily by one of his right ankle chains.

The two halves suddenly expanded greatly in size and enveloped him in a huge explosion, the effect of which was blocked by another chain-sphere, a wide-range roar of lightning bolts reaching Grak after that, thinking the sphere would protect him.

That roar suddenly broke into hundreds of thin lightning needles, several of which went through the sphere, the chainman absorbing all of the chains inside his body to use them as a shield against the needles.

That was a close call, though. The second one since the start of this fight.

Taking the girl captive without at least crippling her was impossible at this point.

If he cut off an arm or a leg, it wouldn’t be fatal.

She just needed to be taken to the teleporter fast enough so the medics back at the base could patch her up.

The lieutenant sent the maximal number of chains from both his wrists now, the golden-haired brat attempting to block them with many explosions.

Some chains managed to go past the explosions while a second wave of attacks was sent by his other enemies – tens of lightning drills and ice stakes.

The drills electrocuted the remaining wrist chains and managed to halt their advance, the stakes moving forward but they broke into pieces before they could reach their target.

The girl had become too confident.

Using one’s deva without a proper understanding of it could only get you so far.

Moreover, to use a static deva, which is much better for defense, to attack another deviant with a static deva was just plain stupid.

Waves of ice started to form from the pieces of the stakes that had fallen to the ground, Grak jumping back but his arms were still encased by one of the ice waves.

So she was bluffing when her stakes had broken down earlier.

That ice was not going to hold him back for long, though, and he still had his legs, shooting blade-chains and scythe-chains from them, blocked by a huge ice wall before they could reach the trio, who were teleported in front of him by a lightning bolt.

He pulled the ankle-chains back to his body with great speed to cut his enemies from behind, the golden-haired one pushing them back with mini-bright red firework explosions while lightning spears were sent to his arms by the spiky-haired one just as he had released them from the ice.

Nice try but too slow.

The mace-chains and spike-chains ripped the spears apart as the lieutenant received a mighty head-butt from the girl.

She’d caught him off-guard enough times – he had covered his head with chains to counter that attack, being confused by her decisive smile.

When he realized what was happening, it was already too late.

The white-haired one had smashed her knee in his chest, having formed an ice spike over the knee, which pierced Grak very deep.

She detached the ice spike from her knee and spread her arms, increasing the spike’s size considerably, reaching at least 15 meters in height, the chainman not only being pierced but starting to freeze now.

Damn brats. They had made him use all his chains for offense and defense simultaneously, not leaving any to protect his torso while he was being distracted by the head-butt.

Good strategy. Their success might have even been guaranteed if they could count better.

They ought to have figured out by that point that each of his extremities that could actively move independently from the others could be used to create chains of a specific type so they had found a way to deal with the chains of all four extremities.

He had one more kept in reserve – his tongue.

He transformed it in a thick chain with multiple spikes on it and a spear tip at the end and shot it out of his mouth right at the white-haired girl.

The two boys hit him with a fist enveloped in their devas just then, but the chain still reached who it was aimed for.

The lieutenant could no longer complete the mission but at least he had got revenge for his men by killing the one who beat them and was responsible for his demise.